


Have You Read This?

by believesinponds



Series: Have You Read This? [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Anxiety (brief), Coming Out, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-06 14:19:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8755894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/believesinponds/pseuds/believesinponds
Summary: “Look, I’m not gay. I’ve had both girlfriends and boyfriends in the past and I identify as bisexual. Grey-ace bisexual quoiromantic, if you want to get technical about it. Just because I have a husband and a boyfriend right now doesn’t mean I’m only interested in men.”“Well shit.” Kent muted the TV and turned to Bitty. “That wasn’t exactly what we planned.”“Not exactly, no,” Bitty muttered.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [PBJ_EpiFest_2016](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/PBJ_EpiFest_2016) collection. 



> **Prompt:**  
>  Song/Artist: Hurricane from the musical Hamilton  
> Prompt Details: A sports mag runs a "COULD JACK ZIMMERMANN BE GAY" article. Jack pulls a FULL HAMILTON and holds a press conference correcting the article's mistakes: Example: "No, I'm bi and demi, not gay. I have a husband AND a boyfriend, thanks"  
> Additional: Just... Jack being 110% Jack Zimmermann. You could write this as Jack being self-destructive but I think it could be really light and hilarious. Parse and Bits need to be on board with the plan, even though they think it's over-the-top. 
> 
>  
> 
> **Author's Note:**  
>  This fic seriously got away from me. If I had been able to spend more time on it, it could have been about ten times the length. Seriously.  
> I hope you enjoy! :)

**\--October 19, 2017--**

“ _Look, I’m not gay. I’ve had both girlfriends and boyfriends in the past and I identify as bisexual. Grey-ace bisexual quoiromantic, if you want to get technical about it. Just because I have a husband and a boyfriend right now doesn’t mean I’m only interested in men._ ”

Kent blinked at the uproar of voices on the TV screen. Bitty muttered “oh dear Lord” and buried his face in Kent’s arm. The PR manager told the crowd that there would be no more questions and herded Jack away from the press.

“Well shit.” Kent muted the TV and turned to Bitty. “That wasn’t exactly what we planned.”

“Not exactly, no,” Bitty muttered.

**\--December 14, 2014--**

“I mean...it could be Montreal, it could be L.A., okay? I don’t know.”

Kent met Jack’s eyes. “...what about Las Vegas?”

“I...I don’t know, okay?”

He frowned, his gaze dropping down to Jack’s hands.

“Parse--”

“Whatever, Zimms.”

Jack stepped closer, his hand falling on Kent’s shoulder. Kent shrugged it off and took a step back.

“Listen, Kenny--”

“No!” Kent took another step back and stared at the ceiling, ignoring the tightness of his throat. “No, Jack, _you_ listen. I put up with these last four years of you going to _college_ and playing for this shitty team--”

“You can’t--you can’t just come here unannounced and expect me to do whatever you want--”

“I’m _trying_ to help! I fucking miss you, okay, Jack? God! We’re supposed to be together, god, we’re _married_ \--”

He was cut off by a loud gasp from the hallway.

“Shit,” Jack muttered. He took two long strides across the room and pulled the door open, revealing a small kid--the same small kid that Jack had been taking a selfie with earlier.

_Bittle,_ he remembered. Jack was obsessed with him.

“J-Jack, I’m so sorry, oh lord--”

“Get in here, Bittle,” Jack said, tugging him in a little roughly.

Kent frowned. “Zimms, _god_ , chill the fuck out.”

“I’m sorry!” Bittle was glancing back and forth between them, his voice pitched high. “I didn’t mean to listen in, I was just trying to get my door open and--”

Jack squeezed his hands into fists at his side. “What did you hear?”

“I--” He made brief eye contact with Kent before returning his gaze to Jack, face hardening with resolve. “It doesn’t matter what I heard because I am _not ever repeating it_.”

“Great.” Jack’s voice was deadpan and his eyes narrowed in Kent’s direction. “Just fucking _great_ , Kent.”

So somehow this was all his fault? Kent’s blood boiled. “Fuck you, Jack! I didn’t do _anything_ , I just--”

“You just _outed_ us to one of my teammates!”

“I didn’t do it on _purpose_ , Jesus Christ!”

“Kent--”

“Now hold on just a minute there, Mr. Zimmermann!” Bittle crossed his arms and gave Jack a stern look. “I’m sure you can’t possibly believe that I would _ever_ share this with anyone else.”

For about two seconds Jack looked like he was going to explode, and then he deflated completely. “Fuck. Of course not, Bittle. I’m sorry.”

Kent rolled his eyes. “I'll be at the hotel if you decide to grace me with your presence, Zimms.”

“Kenny--”

He waived off Jack’s protests and made a hasty retreat to his rental car. Shitty, who was sitting on the porch rail, seemed to sense his mood--he gave him a short nod and said, “See ya, Parse.”

Kent managed to make it onto the freeway before he let any tears spill.

***

“So Kent Parson is your--”

Jack sighed. “Yeah.”

“Okay.”

“Bittle.” He wasn’t ready for this information to be out. He still had a semester of school left before he could sign with a team, and there was no team that would sign him if they knew he was--if they knew.

Bittle was smiling a little too brightly. “Congratulations! Or, um,” he faltered, wringing his hands together. “I suppose this isn’t new, is it?”

Jack almost laughed. “No, it’s. It’s not new.”

“How long--?”

“Right after the draft. When I was--,” he took a moment to breathe. “When I was in rehab. He--they wouldn’t let me talk to him because he wasn’t family, so we...yeah.”

“I see.”

“Bittle--”

His smile wavered. “You could’ve told me, Jack.”

Jack shook his head, his eyes focused on the _Be Better_ poster behind Bittle’s head. “Nobody knows. Just our parents and Kenny’s sister. I couldn’t--I _couldn’t_ tell you, Bittle.”

He didn’t say anything to that.

“Listen.” Jack let out a breath. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this, okay? And I trust you, I _do_ , but you have to promise not to say anything to anybody.”

He looked almost offended. “Of course, Jack. I would _never_.”

“Good. Thank you.”

They were both silent for a moment before Bittle let out a sigh. “So are you going to go after him?”

He didn’t want to. He wanted to stay here and wallow and possibly call his mom. But they couldn’t have a relationship without communication, and he knew that they had a lot to talk about.

“I probably should, shouldn’t I?”

Bittle fixed him with a look that said, _Obviously._

“Right.” He grabbed his jacket from the back of his desk chair and stuffed his wallet and keys into a pocket. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Bittle.”

Jack managed to wind through the partygoers with little trouble and hopped into Lardo’s car--he knew she wouldn’t mind--and headed for Boston.

***

Eric wasn’t really sure how to handle this new information. Apparently Jack wasn’t straight. Jack wasn’t straight and he was _married_ to Kent Parson.

Also, nobody else knew about it.

That was kind of the worst part, if he was being honest, because the news that Jack was into guys was life-alteringly _huge_ and Eric really needed to share it with someone.

He glanced down at this phone and then shook his head resolutely.

There were some things that couldn’t be shared on Twitter even in the vaguest of terms.

The party was still raging downstairs, the bass from the music vibrating the floor, and Eric considered returning to it. He could pretend that nothing out of the ordinary happened. Maybe team up with Lardo to beat Ransom and Holster at beer pong.

Except…he couldn’t shake the fact that he’d just overheard what he did. He glanced around Jack’s room with a frown. Why hadn’t he noticed before? He usually had a pretty good sense about these things—he knew about Lardo from the first day he met her. But Jack?

Eric shook his head. He would just go back to his room and mess around on the internet for a while. He wasn’t really up for partying anymore.

As he reached to shut the light off in Jack’s room, he noticed something on the small side table by the door.

Jack’s phone.

It was unmistakably Jack’s—he was the only person Eric knew that didn’t have a smart phone. Eric lifted it from the table and flipped it open. There were several unread text messages from Kent Parson. He didn’t want to pry—he’d already been privy to more of Jack’s private life than he was welcome to. Instead he scrolled through Jack’s contacts and found Kent’s phone number.

**_Eric (10:47 pm)  
_ ** _hey, this is eric bittle from jack’s team. it looks like he left his cell here (don’t worry, i didn’t read anything!!!) and i thought you’d want to know that he was on his way to your hotel._

By the time he switched off Jack’s light and closed himself in his own room, he had a response.

**_KP (10:48 pm)_**  
_thanks, man.  
_ _and listen, jack gets really defensive about this shit. don’t take it personally or anything. i’m sure you won’t tell anybody._

**_Eric (10:48 pm)  
_ ** _i understand. and i definitely won’t tell anybody. nobody should be outed before they’re ready._

**_KP (10:49 pm)_  
** _you’re a good friend, bittle. i can see why jack likes you so much._

Eric blushed and paused, thumbs hovering over the screen. Was that some kind of veiled stay-away-from-my-man warning? Surely Kent didn’t think that he was going to try and make a move on a married man. Right?

**_Eric (10:52 pm)  
_ ** _yeah. he’s a good friend, too._

**_(10:58 pm)  
_ ** _i’m not gonna try anything, you know. i wouldn’t go for a married guy._

**_KP (10:59 pm)  
_ ** _dude. go ahead. i don’t mind at all._

Eric blinked at the phone.

What?

That…couldn’t possibly be what Kent meant to say, could it?

**_Eric (11:02 pm)  
_ ** _um. i’m really not sure what you mean by that._

He exchanged a look with Señor Bunny and bit his lip as he waited for Kent’s response.

**_KP (11:03 pm)_**  
_i mean go for it, man. he definitely likes you._  
_but don’t tell him i spilled the beans!  
_ _i’m just pretty sure it will take him all year to tell you himself, so i’m meddling a little._

**_Eric (11:06 pm)_**  
_you want me to go after jack.  
_ _you’re actually encouraging me to try and get with your husband._

**_KP (11:07 pm)  
_ ** _well yeah. he likes you and you clearly like him. why not?_

Eric let out a hysterical laugh.

**_Eric (11:07 pm)  
_ ** _ummmm because he’s your *husband*?_

**_KP (11:08 pm)_**  
_oh, whoops! did i forget to tell you that we have an open relationship?  
_ _not that jack actually dates very much, but i know for sure he’s interested in you._

Señor Bunny’s ear was covering his eye, so Eric reached out and flipped it to the side.

“This is insane,” he whispered.

Señor Bun agreed silently.

**_KP (11:12 pm)_**  
_jack’s here. just…think about it, okay?_  
_talk to him.  
_ _trust me._

**_Eric (12:03 am)  
_ ** _okay._

**\--May 18, 2015--**

Kent clapped a hand on Jack’s shoulder and nodded across the square. “Looks like Alicia’s done with the alumni thing.”

“Ah. Yeah, okay.” Jack was looking down at his tie, absently playing with the edges.

“Zimms.”

His head snapped up. “Yeah?”

Kent rolled his eyes. After all their conversations and his own meddling with Bittle through texts, Jack _still_ hadn’t made a move.

“Go say goodbye.”

“But I already—”

“Jack.”

That got his attention.

“You need to do this. You need to _really_ say goodbye before you leave or you’re going to regret it.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed just a little.

“Babe. Go. I’ll get everyone together and we’ll pick you up at the Haus.”

“But—”

“ _Go._ ”

And _finally_ Jack went.

**\--October 8, 2015—**

**_Eric (7:03 pm)_**  
_Oh Lord, I can’t watch this!!!  
_ _I am literally hiding behind Se_ _ñor Bun._

**_Kent (7:03 pm)  
_ ** _He’s gonna be fine, Bits._

**_Eric (7:04 pm)  
_ ** _But this is the NHL! It’s way more intense than college hockey :(_

**_Kent (7:04 pm)  
_ ** _Is it? I wouldn’t know._

**_Eric (7:04 pm)  
_ ** _Oh hush, you. I’m just nervous for him! You’ve been doing this for years, you’re used to it._

**_Kent (7:05 pm)  
_ ** _Zimms is ready, B, don’t worry._

**_Eric (7:06 pm)_**  
_I’m still gonna worry._  
_...but thank you for your reassurance, hon.  
_ _It’s too bad you couldn’t be here to watch with us._

**_Kent (7:08 pm)_**  
_#hockeylife  
_ _If I hadn’t just finished my own game, I would definitely be there._

**_Eric (7:09 pm)_**  
_I know.  
_ _We’re still on for tomorrow, though, right?_

**_Kent (7:11 pm)  
_ ** _Of course! I wouldn’t dream of missing breakfast with my boy’s boy! I'll be there bright and early to pick you up._

**_Eric (7:11 pm)  
_ ** _Kent Parson, if you show up before 8 am I swear on all that's holy…_

**_Kent (7:11 pm)  
_ ** _What? You'll chirp me to death?_

**_Eric (7:12 pm)  
_ ** _Oh I'll do something, all right, and I can guarantee it won't be pretty, Mr. Parson._

**_Kent (7:13 pm)  
_ ** _Well then I guess I better show up at 8:00._

**_Eric (7:15 pm)  
_ ** _And not a minute sooner!_

**\--July 8, 2016--**

“Hello, lovely followers! I promise I’ll have a delicious recipe here for y’all in just a minute, but first I just have to tell you the cutest thing that happened to me the other day. I know I’ve told you all about my wonderful metamour—that’s the partner of my partner, for those of you new to polyamory—and he is just the sweetest thing! Honestly, I can’t even describe how great he is. He’s my best friend, tied with my honey, of course.

“Anyway, we were celebratin’ the holiday down here in Georgia and that sweet man actually brought my mama a bouquet of flowers! He told her that he wanted to thank the woman who raised his husband’s boyfriend because I was such an important part of their lives. Y’all, I just about near cried right there with my hands covered in apple pie filling. It was the nicest thing anyone’s done for me.

“Now, speaking of apple pie, I have a fun one for y’all today…”

**\--February 26, 2017--**

**Eric R. Bittle** @omgcheckplease  
I just want to clear a few things up for y’all.

**Eric R. Bittle** @omgcheckplease  
1) Yes, I am the guy in those pictures. 2) Yes, I am dating Kent Parson. 3) Yes, we met through mutual NHL friends.

**Eric R. Bittle** @omgcheckplease  
And bless your hearts, I know y’all want more details, but it is private business and I’ll thank y’all to give us our space.

**Eric R. Bittle** @omgcheckplease  
Feel free to direct any questions to Kenny’s PR team @LVAcesPR

**\--September 29, 2017--**

Jack wasn’t the jealous type, but watching Bitty and Kenny do photoshoots and attend events together was…hard.

When he was younger and in the Q he didn’t think he would ever come out. It was too risky. But things were different now. He had two full seasons under his belt and he knew that management would have his back. He just needed to make the call.

He picked up his phone and dialed George’s number.

“I need your help with something. No, nothing happened, I just…I’ve decided that I want to come out.”

It was Kent’s idea for the three of them to announce their relationship. They were all completely out to their friends and family, so that wouldn’t be an issue, and the truth would probably come out eventually anyway, so why not make it happen on their own terms?

Jack agreed immediately.

“I thought you’d be the one who would need convincing, Zimms.”

Jack leaned his arm on the table and shrugged. “I’m sick of hiding things.”

Bitty reached across the table and laced his fingers with Jack’s. “Are you sure about this, honey? This is…a lot different than just coming out as queer.”

He squeezed Bitty’s fingers and reached for Kent’s hand, too. “I’m sure. I’m so sure about this. I want to be able to do things that normal partners do, like go on dates and post selfies. It’s been…” he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “…it’s hard to see you guys together in articles and photoshoots. Not because I don’t love seeing you two together! I just wish I could have that, too.”

“Oh, Jack,” Bitty stood from his chair and pulled Jack into a hug, his head resting comfortably against Bitty’s chest. He closed his eyes and listened to Bitty’s heartbeat.

Jack could practically hear the silent conversation going on between his partners. After a moment, Kent came around the table and added his hand to Jack’s hair, his fingers entwining with Bitty’s.

“Okay. Let’s do this.”

**\--October 19, 2017--**

“It’s gonna be fine, babe. We were planning on doing this soon anyway, just--”

Bitty huffed and pushed himself up off the couch. “Just not in a post-game media scrum while Jack is half-dressed and we’re not _with_ him.”

“Eric.” Kent caught his hand and tried to pull him back down.

“No. I’m sorry, honey, I just.” Bitty tugged his hand loose. “I need to go bake something.” Kent nodded and let him escape to the kitchen. While Bitty banged around more loudly than usual, Kent sent off a quick text.

_**Kent (9:42 pm)  
** u okay zimms? call me when you can._

Moments later the phone rang.

“Kenny.” Jack’s voice was rough.

“Zimms.” Kent bit his lip and watched the ticker at the bottom of the screen--JACK ZIMMERMANN SEEN KISSING KENT PARSON BEFORE FLIGHT. He sighed. “Are you okay?”

There was a shaky exhale from Jack's end of the line. “Yeah. Sort of.”

“Jack.”

Jack let out a chuckle. “Okay, not really.”

“Are you hyperventilating?”

“No, I don't think so.”

“Heartbeat?”

“It’s…fast and hard.”

“Dizzy?”

“No.”

“Cold?”

“Um. A little, yeah.”

Kent nodded to himself, satisfied that Jack would be fine.

“Okay. Are you heading back to the hotel now?”

“Yeah. Management already had some words with me so I think I'm allowed to go.”

Something clanged too loudly in the kitchen and he heard Bitty swear.

“Good. Just...listen to your playlist and give yourself a break, okay? This isn’t the end of the world. We were going to come out anyway, so don’t beat yourself up over this.”

Jack sighed. “It wasn’t supposed to be like _this_ , Kenny.”

“I know, babe. But it’s really gonna be okay.”

There was silence for a moment while Jack thought it over. “I guess.”

“Hey. We love you.”

“Yeah, I love you guys, too.”

Kent ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “Get some rest, Zimms.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

“See you.”

The line went quiet and Kent lowered the phone from his ear.

This was going to be...interesting.

***

**vanessa zimmerson** @parzimms90  
oh my fuck did jack laurent zimmermann just come out as POLYAMOROUS???

**erika r. bittle** @erbluvsjackparse  
HOLY SHIT I SO CALLED IT

**polyzimmermann** @polyzimmermann  
literal tears rn omg

**\--October 20, 2017--**

Eric woke to low voices in the other room. He groaned and checked his phone—it wasn’t even 7:00 am.

“—have to say something.”

“I know.”

“We can do it on your terms, boys. It can be a press conference or a statement or whatever you want to do.”

He recognized both his boyfriends’ voices, but the third voice took an extra moment to place—Georgia Martin.

“We’ll have to see what Bits wants to do. I know we were planning a press conference, but now…”

“Things are different.”

Eric sighed and pushed himself out of bed. There was no way he was going to get anymore sleep. He slid into a t-shirt and a pair of slippers and padded out to the kitchen. Jack was still in his traveling suit, his luggage sitting next to the front door.

Kent, who was pouring a cup of coffee, noticed him first.

“Morning, babe,” he said.

Jack turned to face him. “Hey, bud. Doing okay?”

Eric sighed and leaned into Jack’s chest. “I’m fine, honey, it’s you I’m worried about. Did you get some sleep?”

Jack’s lips pressed against his head. “A little.”

“We were just discussing our strategy for today,” George said from the table.

“Did you talk to Kenny’s PR already?” Bitty asked.

“Our teams are working together to come up with a statement. You boys just need to decide if you want to make an appearance or not.”

Eric watched as Kent sat next to George and took a long sip of his coffee.

“I think we should do it,” Kent said. “We already had our talking points planned out. This just sped up the timeline a little bit.”

“I agree,” Jack said, his grip on Eric tightening. “We should just move forward with the plan.”

Eric sighed and nodded his head. “I’m in. Let’s do it.”

***

“What was lacking in your relationship with Zimmermann that led you to seek a boyfriend?”

Kent squeezed Bitty’s hand and silently counted to five before answering. “There wasn’t anything lacking in my relationship with Zimms. We always had an open arrangement, even before we learned about polyamory. I love Zimms more than I can say, and if my life was only with him I would still be just as happy. But love isn't a limited thing, and I think my life is fuller knowing that I can love anyone I choose and never take away from my relationship with my husband.”

“Two more questions!” the moderator called. “Jefferson, go ahead.”

The reporter in blue smiled. “Eric, you’ve been vlogging about polyamory for quite some time. What are your plans for future advocacy?”

Kent raised an eyebrow and shared a look with George, who nodded and scribbled something into her notepad.

“Well, at the moment my plan is to continue with my regular routine, but eventually I’d like to work with organizations that support queer and polyamorous people. I’m particularly interested in working with youth. I know that I could have used support like that when I was growing up.”

“Moores, you’ve got the last one. Make it good.”

**\--October 22, 2017--**

Jack’s new favorite pastime was going out with both Kent and Bitty. They went to movies and restaurants and even the first Samwell game to cheer on the now-senior Frogs. (Chowder literally bounced on his toes when he saw them after the game.)

There were all kinds of paparazzi photos floating around of him holding hands with Kent and kissing Bitty on the cheek. Some people weren’t taking it well, which was to be expected, but for the most part things were smooth. They read through several of the reports from the press conference, but the best piece by far was in OUT Magazine by Shay Jefferson. The final line was particularly poignant, talking about finding your place in the world and holding on to the people who support you.

It was exactly what they were looking for.

He asked George to make the call that same day.

“What are you planning, sugar?” Bitty asked when Jack hung up the phone.

“Just making sure we have all our ducks in a row. Sounds like that reporter from OUT is on board to do the exclusive.”

Bitty stood on his tip-toes and pressed a kiss to Jack’s cheek. “That’s fantastic, sweetheart. Did you tell Kenny?”

Jack opened his phone and tapped out a brief message. “On it.”

**\--October 25, 2017--**

**Eric R. Bittle** @omgcheckplease  
Have you read this? http://www.out.com/sports/2017...

**Eric R. Bittle** @omgcheckplease  
Thanks to the wonderful Shay Jefferson for their insight into our lives! Looking forward to working with you in the future, @theyshayj

**Eric R. Bittle** @omgcheckplease  
And thank you to all of our friends, family, and fans! You’ve made this experience so much better than it could have been.

**Eric R. Bittle** @omgcheckplease  
Like Shay wrote in our article, “The only thing that matters in the end is that you surround yourself with people who support you.”

**Eric R. Bittle** @omgcheckplease  
Thank you wonderful folks for your support. I wouldn’t want to surround myself with anyone else  <3

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly? There is a very high chance that there will be some one-shots set in this verse. Bitty and Kent's story could totally be it's own full-length fic. And I have a loooot of background stuff floating around in my head, so...keep an eye out! :D
> 
> You can reblog this work [HERE](http://pbj-epifest.tumblr.com/post/154924380194/fic-have-you-read-this) from the pbj-epifest tumblr page!


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